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Approach · kinesthetic

Kinaesthetic approach: the 1931 cabinet crisis role-play

A kinaesthetic route into the competing Depression responses for students who learn by debating and deciding.

Role-play: the 1931 cabinet crisis

Assign roles — Scullin, Lang, a federal treasurer, a British bondholder, an unemployed worker, a farmer. Present each with the same crisis brief (collapsing export income, mounting debt, mass unemployment) and have them argue, in character, for their preferred response. The irreconcilable positions make the 1931 Labor Split something students feel rather than memorise.

Physical continuum

Mark a line across the room from "repudiate the debt (Lang)" to "pay every penny (orthodox)." Read out policy statements and have students stand where each belongs, then explain their placement. It externalises the political spectrum of the crisis.